The late highly respected businessman Arthur Hamilton arrived in Australia as a working-class immigrant from Scotland and through brains and brawn built a successful group of companies in Darwin. 

He was a loving family man, and would no doubt be delighted to know that his children are continuing his work. 

One of the companies, Shorebarge, is run by his daughter Meegan Chandler and her husband Richard. 

All four of their children work for the business. 

One of the sons, Michael, who has worked for Shorebarge since he left school in 2016, has just gained his Certificate IV in Maritime Operations, which qualifies him to be a skipper of the company’s vessels. 

James, who began working for the company while still at school, was a mate but is now training in administration. 

And Tyron will soon start studying for his coxswain’s grade 1 Near Coastal ticket while in year 11 at school and then gain a grade 2 Marine Engineer Driver certificate. 

Daughter Alyica is in year 10 at school but works in the company office part-time, filing and entering data. 

“She wants to work with us when she leaves school,” says Meegan. “She says she wants to be the CEO – in fact, she sometimes acts like the CEO.” 

Zaylain, Meegan and Richard’s grandson, is the only member of the family who doesn’t work for the company – and that’s because he’s only three years old. 

“It’s always been a family business and always will be,” says Meegan. “We want to pass it to our children and for them to pass it to their children. That will keep dad’s legacy alive.” 

Shorebarge, which has just bought its 3.2 hectare work site in East Arm, operates barge charters. 

It has two main contracts. 

One of the company’s barges, usually the Cooma Cooma, which means Big Lake, services Kalumburu, considered the most remote permanent Indigenous community in Western Australia, and the Mungalalu Truscott airforce base. 

The 35-metre barge brings in crucial supplies, such as food and medicines; Shorebarge delivers goods to the school and women’s shelter free of charge. 

Cooma Cooma and the Jane Virgo do the 40-hour journey from Darwin to the isolated community every fortnight throughout the year, except for a short break at Christmas. 

Shorebarge charters the Cooma Cooma and Jane Virgo to Defence during two annual military training exercises, Predator Walk in March and Predator Run in late July. 

The barges carry equipment and personnel to the training grounds. 

Meegan wants to build a third barge as part of a five-year expansion project – the vessel will have to be built in Asia where the cost is less than half of what it would be in Australia. 

Shorebarge employs 35 staff. 

“We have some of the problems of recruiting and retaining staff, but we run a family-oriented business and pay above the going rate, so people want to work here,” says Richard. 

Shorebarge likes to give back to the community – for instance, it donated $60,000 to the Humpty Dumpty charity last year by buying equipment needed by hospitals and clinics from a wish list. 

Support for health services is near to Meegan and Richard’s heart – Tyron and Richard were both born premature and needed the best of modern medicine to survive. 

Richard was in hospital for the first year of his life and was the first child in Australia to be “cut open and closed up” by laser while having a bladder reconstruction and a kidney removed. 

He worked for Arthur Hamilton for 18 years and is now head of Shorebarge operations. 

“Arthur told me, ‘If you’re going out with my daughter you might as well come and work for me’.” 

CONTACT 

Shorebarge 

2 Pearl Court, East Arm NT 0822 

(08) 8932 3344 

enquiries@shorebarge.com.au 

shorebarge.com.au